Isaiah Jackson Is Ahead of Brook Lopez and Darius Garland Runs the Clippers

Ty Lue has shown his hand early. Through the first days of Clippers training camp in Hawaii, the first unit has been Darius Garland, Max Strus, Derrick Jones Jr., Rui Hachimura and Isaiah Jackson, per the team's beat coverage and Lue's own comments to reporters. Brook Lopez, the veteran expected by many to anchor the middle, has been working with the second unit. Lue cautioned that things will change before opening night, but the shape of the post-Kawhi Leonard Clippers is already clear: this is Garland's offense, built for pace, and the fantasy board should react accordingly.

The context matters. Leonard was traded to Toronto in a deal that returned Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 pick swap and two second-round picks. Ingram was supposed to be the co-headliner next to Garland, but he had surgery on a partially torn Achilles and a right heel injury and will miss the start of the season. Bradley Beal, back on a two-year deal, opened camp sidelined with right knee inflammation that surfaced while he ramped up from hip surgery. Second-year big Yanic Konan Niederhauser is still recovering from the foot ligament tear that ended his rookie season in March and will not be ready for the opener.

The camp first unit, and what it says

Lue's group is not the most talented five on paper. It is the most athletic and the most switchable, and that is the point. With Ingram out, Garland is the primary engine, and the plan is to surround him with shooting, length and players who can run. Strus is the best 3-and-D option on the roster. Jones is the best pure athlete. Hachimura gives size and catch-and-shoot spacing at the four. Jackson is a lob threat and rim protector who lets Garland play out of pick-and-roll at speed.

The Lopez decision is the surprise. He is a veteran on a meaningful contract, and his floor-spacing at center is a genuine skill. But Lopez is a spacer and post option, not a rim-runner, and the Clippers seem to want Garland to have a vertical target in the pick-and-roll. That is a fantasy signal more than a basketball verdict: whoever starts at center for this team gets the lob volume and the defensive rebounds, and right now that is Jackson.

Garland is a featured-usage point guard again

Garland's toe was the story of his last stretch in Cleveland. He has said the injury began as a bone bruise, became torn ligaments that required reconstruction, and that he is now fully healed. He was cleared to begin camp, and he has been loud about the group, telling reporters he believes the Clippers will surprise people this season.

For fantasy, the important part is not the optimism. It is the usage. In Cleveland, Garland shared the ball with Donovan Mitchell. In Los Angeles, with Ingram out and Beal limited, there is no second creator of comparable caliber in the starting group. That points to a heavy share of possessions, a high assist rate and plenty of free throw attempts if he stays healthy. The risk is efficiency on a thinner roster and a durability history that is real. In points leagues, Garland is the kind of guard who can outperform his draft slot on volume alone if the toe holds. In category leagues, his low steals and blocks keep the ceiling in check, but points, threes, assists and free throw percentage carry him.

Managers who saw Garland slip in drafts because of last season's injury should move him back up a few spots. The role is now bigger than it was in Cleveland.

Isaiah Jackson is the late-round center to target

Jackson has long been a per-minute blocks and rebounds producer who never had a clear path to starter minutes. Lue is giving him that path, at least to open camp. A starting center next to a pass-first point guard in an uptempo system is a classic late-round category play: field goal percentage, rebounds and blocks with little cost elsewhere. Foul trouble has historically capped his minutes, so his range of outcomes is wide.

Lopez is the obvious counterweight. If Jackson struggles in the preseason, Lopez can slide back into the first unit, and his three-point shooting and blocks make him a respectable fantasy center in his own right. For drafters, the cleaner approach is to take Jackson as a final-rounds upside pick and treat Lopez as a waiver-wire name to watch rather than a draft target. The preseason minutes split, starting Sunday against Golden State in Honolulu, will tell the story quickly.

The rookie and the rest of the bench

Keaton Wagler, the No. 5 pick, is not in the first unit, but Lue has said the team intends to give him plenty of on-ball opportunities and called him a strong pick-and-roll player. Veteran Kris Dunn singled Wagler out as a standout in camp, praising his processing speed and shooting. That is a dynasty and deep-league signal: a top-five pick with on-ball reps on a rebuilding roster tends to see his role grow as the season goes on, especially if the team falls out of the race.

The crunch falls on the wings. Between Wagler, Beal, Dunn and Strus (if he returns to a bench role at any point), Gradey Dick looks like a fringe rotation player for now. He is a name to drop from redraft queues unless the injury list grows. Beal's knee is the swing factor: his regular-season status is not currently viewed as in serious danger, but a guard coming off hip surgery with a new knee issue is not someone to draft as anything more than a bench stash.

Betting angle

The market already expects a step back. The Clippers' season win total sits at 30.5 at multiple books, including BetMGM, after a 42-win season, and their championship price is listed around +50000. That number bakes in the Leonard trade and the Ingram injury. The question for bettors is whether a healthy Garland plus an athletic, defense-first starting five can outperform a roster that looks thin on paper.

The inputs worth tracking before committing are Garland's minutes and touches in the preseason, how quickly Beal gets back on the floor, and any clarity on an Ingram timeline. A team that plays fast with a young, athletic first unit can win more games than its talent suggests in the first half of the season, but depth tends to show up over 82 games. For the model's game-by-game view once the regular season begins, check /nba/predictions.

What's next

The Clippers wrap their Hawaii camp Saturday and host the Warriors on Sunday, Oct. 4, at the University of Hawaii, their first preseason test. Watch who starts at center and how the minutes split between Jackson and Lopez, whether Wagler runs the second unit, and any update on Beal's knee. Rookie scale extension talks across the league continue until the Oct. 19 deadline, and the Clippers' rotation should be close to final by the last week of the preseason. Draft accordingly: bump Garland, take a late shot on Jackson, and keep Wagler on the radar in dynasty and deep formats.